Three years with Jake, and it only took one piece of paper to show me what our relationship was really worth. After my grandmother’s passing left me an inheritance, his mother Denise presented me with a detailed list of “gifts” I needed to purchase for the family – totaling over $100,000.
“A small gesture to show you’re serious about joining us,” she explained, as if extortion was a normal pre-wedding tradition. What hurt most wasn’t the audacity, but Jake’s reaction when I confronted him later. “You’re overthinking it,” he said, as if his mother hadn’t just reduced our relationship to a financial transaction.
So I gave them exactly what they deserved. Fake jewelry. Toy cars. Monopoly money. Watching Denise’s face turn purple as she opened each “gift” was almost worth the heartbreak of realizing the man I loved cared more about keeping his mother happy than protecting me.
Now I live in a house bought with Grandma’s money, filled with genuine love instead of conditions. Meanwhile, Jake’s family is stuck with the cheap plastic reminders of how they tried to profit from my grief – and lost everything in the process.
